Okay, so I was scrolling through this Reddit thread, right? The question was basically asking for companies or brands that haven’t gone downhill, that are still doing things right. It’s this massive, sprawling discussion where people are just… gushing about the products and services they genuinely love and trust. It’s kind of heartwarming, actually.
The love for some of these smaller, focused companies is just immense. There’s this huge wave of affection for Air North, this little Yukon-based airline. People are obsessed. They talk about how it feels like stepping back in time in the best way: your ticket includes checked bags, a meal, even a warm homemade cookie. The pilots are former bush pilots who laugh at winter storms. Someone shared a story where their flight was delayed due to forest fire smoke, and the captain—who was also the CEO—got on the PA, told everyone to deplane, then minutes later got them all back on because he’d “pulled some strings” to get a landing slot. That kind of hands-on, human touch just blows people away. Another person shipped an entire IKEA apartment’s worth of stuff with them for a shockingly low price, and it arrived perfectly. It’s the antithesis of everything people hate about modern air travel.
Then you’ve got the workhorses, the utterly reliable stuff. Casio watches, especially the G-Shock, are practically a religion. Park rangers swear by them, saying they survive sandstorms, being slammed into rocks, bug spray, you name it. One person’s G-Shock lasted 28 years until a trail accident finally killed it. Another joked that their Casio watch outlasted their relationship. It’s this universal symbol of indestructible, no-nonsense utility.
Yamaha gets a ton of praise, but specifically for their musical instruments, not the motorcycles. Guitarists insist their acoustics compete with brands twice the price. Someone quipped, “Where else are you going to go when you need to buy an acoustic guitar, a clarinet and an outboard motor?” highlighting their bizarrely wide and competent range.
The deep dives are fascinating. Someone who worked for Morton Salt gave an unbelievably detailed description of the underground mine—how everything, even massive trucks and turbines, is disassembled, sent down a 1100-foot shaft in pieces, and rebuilt. They described a whole subterranean city with workshops and flushing toilets, and how anything that comes up to the surface instantly rusts, so dead equipment is just left down there in a giant underground junkyard. It made everyone appreciate that humble cardboard cylinder of salt in a whole new way. It’s a masterpiece of logistics most of us never think about.
There’s a strong theme of companies that are privately owned or employee-owned, seen as a shield against “enshittification”—this great term that came up, describing how public companies inevitably start squeezing customers and employees for growth. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour are heroes here, both employee-owned. One incredibly moving story was about a woman and her sister, who was dying of cancer, getting spontaneously welcomed into a fully-booked bread-making class at King Arthur’s lodge. That act of kindness created a customer for life, and the story had people in tears. It’s not just ethics; the flour quality is consistently top-notch, too.
The legends of reliability are everywhere. WD-40. The can you buy might outlive you. People referenced a *King of the Hill* episode where Hank uses WD-40 to loosen up his old can of WD-40—that’s the brand’s cultural footprint. Swingline staplers, the all-metal model, are passed down like heirlooms; one person “stole” their late professor’s named-stapler 25 years ago and still uses it daily, hoping a student will do the same for them one day. Lodge cast iron skillets—people say they’re nearly indestructible, surviving ignorant roommates who put them in the dishwasher. Vitamix blenders. Pilot G-2 pens. Bic lighters. The sentiment is pure: they just work, forever.
Free, open-source software gets a massive shout-out. Internet Archive is practically worshipped as a gift to humanity, with Wikipedia getting a co-star mention. VLC media player and Blender, the 3D software, are hailed as powerhouses that are not only free but incredibly capable—Blender was used to make an Oscar-winning animated short. There’s a real sense of gratitude for these digital public goods.
Then you have the big players who are seen as resisting the trend. Costco is a giant here. People love the fair prices, the $1.50 hot dog combo that the founder famously swore would never increase in price, and crucially, that they pay and treat their employees well. Stories circulate about the CEO telling big investors to “kick rocks” when they suggested raising prices beyond inflation. There’s even a funny anecdote about Costco politely banning a serial returner by refunding his membership. Arizona Iced Tea is another icon—the owner has kept the can at 99 cents for decades because he simply believes he has enough money. Chapman’s Ice Cream in Canada won hearts by not raising prices during tariff scares and offering their industrial freezers for COVID vaccine storage.
But it’s not all praise. The discussion has a sharp, angry undercurrent about what’s been lost. The closure of JoAnn fabric stores due to private equity is a raw nerve for crafters, who are furious and saddened, forced to travel hours or shop at places they ethically oppose. The decline of Craigslist, once a billion-dollar behemoth now being eaten by Facebook Marketplace, is noted with a sigh. And there’s dark humor, too, with Nestlé getting “praised” for consistency—in being, as one person put it, “shitty cunts” who have “always been shit.”
It all circles back to a simple, powerful idea that emerged from the chatter: when a company is private, employee-owned, or simply run by principled founders, it seems to have a fighting chance to stay good. To care about its product, its people, and its customers, not just the next quarterly report. The thread is basically a crowdsourced love letter to that vanishing ideal, and a mourning for the places where it’s already gone.
